The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-04-29
THE PIONEER PRESS THEORY

, some of the st. Paul Pioneer Press ingen,
:. ious arguments upon the application Of
the interstate law TO certain Minnesota
terminal points (St Paul and Minneap.
: oils, of course.) The Pioneer Press, how
a ever, failed to dwell at any length upon
y the real points set forth by the Senator,
L, but rather strays of on a general strain
: of thought, quite distant from the posi-
ton taken by the Senator, and among
other things charges that Mr.. Pope was
inspired, in his indeavors TO secure the
passage of tho new State railroad law,
by desire to attain such legislation as
would inure to the business interests OF
Mankato. Such position as this, may
perhaps, answer the purpose of the
, Pioneer Press in It's endeavor To evade the
direct issue, but the unanimity with
which the legislative body acted upon
the bill is sufficient to contradict the
silly charge.
1t is vehemently urged by the Pioneer
Press that the iobbers of st. Paul are not
at fault for the destructive discrimina-
tons which 1t admits have been made
against Farlbault and all other towns in
Southwestern Minnesota, but that it is
the railroads who alone are to be blamed.
Let us examine this claim, that if
there be fault it may be justly located.
st. Paul plumes itself upon its COM
handing position with reference to
Lake Superior, on its natural advantage
of position as the head of river naviga-
ton on the Mississippi, and its facilities
for a distributing center, through its
multiplied rail connections.
We, of the interior, concede all these
as justly hers; we 60 further, and claim
for her with pride that her merchants
are wealthy, sagacious, and liberal; that
with ample means and credit, and ex-
cellent judgment they can purchase
largely and cheaply, and can distribute
on low prices and long credits over
Territory, an empire in extent. We will
further concede that as jobbers, pur-
chasing in car lots, they may make
claim (whose validity we reserve the
right to question or deny to get their
goods hauled from Lake Michigan ports
by various competing railroads at rate
so low that these railroads cannot afford
to charge lower. than through rate,
to intermediate stations.
With these advantages named, is not
the list complete? Should not this met
ropolitan city, its railroads, its mer-
chants, and its press, be content to en-
ter and run the race, for commercial su-
premacy and power, with its weaker
and smaller competitors throughout the
State?
That they have appreciated and
claimed these advantages and utilized
them to the fullest extent is not a Just
cause of complaint. But if we of the in
terror have any just cause of complaint,
it is that they have not been content
with these, their natural and geographic
cal advantages, but have made the most
unfair and ungenerous demand of COM
mon carriers-that their rates should be
so adjusted as to handicap every other To-
cality and interest in the State, and
compel it to pay tribute to them and
their interests.
1t is argued that competition with wa
ter routes Uake Superior) compels COM
mon carriers to make a through rate
from Chicago and st. Paul too low for
profit if applied to intermediate stations.
We deny this compulsion and the right of
these common carriers to do so; but if
at all why not at every other station
north of La Crosse. Are not they as near
Duluth as to Chicago? , Is st. Paul any
more a terminal station than they? But
Is it lake competition which has given
these low through rates? Is it not the
competition of railroads, each striving
for the larger share of that business
which is not enough for all-which, vast
as it is, would hardly overtax the ca
pacity of one single line of the six or
more which are competitors for st. Paul
and Chicago traffic?
How is it possible for lines crossing
the river far south of st. Paul, to assume
it just fulfillment of public obligations
when they, from their point of crossing
the Mississippi, run north toward Du-
luth a hundred miles, to meet water
routes, short lines and an Improbable
competitiOn, to enable them to do which
they must heavily tax the trade and ter
ritory on their lines westerly from the
points at which they diverge to meet
this competition, and then having 80
lplaced these car lots in st. Paul their
ljobbers could ship these goods over
these roads to their original destination
at double the distance from the river
and the carrier get less freight than if
they had gone direct? On what princi-
pie of traffic should a road so adjust its
tariffs that the sum of two local Qess car
These are features of situation which
has prevailed and which was advocated :,
almost compelled; by the st. Paul Jobbers'
Union. (See correspondence with Chi
cago, st. Paul and Milwaukee r. R., in
report of Senate committee of railroads
to the last legislature.)
Again We concede that st. Paul, being
nearer Duluth than Chicago, might get
lower rates for the 155 to 200 miles to
Duluth than for the 40 miles from CHI
Cago. More than that, we claim they
should get such lower rates from public
carriers.
But the st. Paul jobbers would abro-
gate section (nterstate) SO that rail-
, roads can carry 40 to 500 miles to COM
: pete with the I55 to 200 mile haul, for
their benefit, and be enabled to do 1t
8 solely by taxing all intermediate and in
{ terror traffic an excess over what their
rate would otherwise be.
1t is stated in the Pioneer Press of the
: 2lst that the operation of the State rail-
: road law affects Mankato unfavorably,
=, and as an evidence it is stated that "the
. st. Paul railroad has thereby been COM
! PEELED to withdraw from Mankato bust
: ness entirely" To us at Mankato this
statement is an evidence of degree of
ignorance of our situation and needs,
: almost inexcusabIe in metropolitan
press.
From Mankato TO Minneapolis and St.
! Paul il is rs and IS miles respectively, by
D the Omaha railroad, while by the st.
A Paul railroad the distances are 100 and
$50 miles respectively, and the distance
L. To Crosso "a 1919 miles. In Crooaa ia